Mummy & Moose
clapping, napping and yapping our way through the day

How to keep your baby cool in summer  

We all know how vital it is to keep cool and spend some time out of the sun in summer. But this can be a challenge when you have a little one to think of. Follow these steps for some of the best ways to look after your baby and keep them from overheating.

 

Hydration is essential

Preventing dehydration is so important for babies and young infants as they do not sweat or perspire the same as we do. This means they can have temperature spikes and suffer heat stroke very quickly and easily. Follow guidelines to what liquids you can offer your baby depending on their age, as they should not be drinking water before 6 months.

 

Clothing to wear

Dress your baby in light weight clothes that are made from natural fibres such as organic cotton and bamboo. These materials are more ‘breathable’, meaning they can absorb perspiration well compared to synthetic fabrics. You might find it useful to have to hand plenty of items that provide shade, such as a sunhat, sunglasses, visor, umbrella, mesh screen and a canopy. You can even find parasol’s that can be attached to your baby’s pushchair.

At night, avoid blankets and use a baby zip sleepsuit made of breathable cotton fabric which can help regulate body temperature. If it is a very hot night and your baby seems restless, consider putting them to sleep in just a nappy.

Keeping cool in the sun

As well as shading your baby from the sun for protection, it is also important to use SPF. Again, use this with caution depending on your baby’s age.

Less than 6 months – when they are so young, their skin doesn’t produce enough of the pigment melanin for protection. For this reason, you should keep your baby out of direct sunlight. On occasion you can thinly apply sun cream if they are, for example, going in the swimming pool with you.

Above 6 months – the guideline is more relaxed and you can apply sun cream more liberally. This should protect against UVA and UVB rays, and be a minimum of SPF 30. Opt for a brand that makes sun cream for children with less additives and ingredients that might irritate the skin.

 

How to cool down

In the event that your baby is overheating, uncomfortable or even getting a heat rash, run a cool bath to help them cool down. Create shade in the room and keep the blinds or curtain closed during the hottest time of the day, and use a fan to circulate. If all else fails, you should NEVER feel like you are overreacting. If you are worried about your little one call 111 for further help and advice.

What to do in Portsmouth for the weekend

We absolutely love the south coast. When we aren’t stuck indoors during the holidays we like nothing more than taking a trip to the coast! Where better than the historic city of Portsmouth! Here are a few ideas for anyone wanting to fill a weekend.

What to do in Portsmouth for the weekend

Situated on the south coast, Portsmouth is one of the UK’s oldest harbour city. With a proud naval history, it’s home to the wooden warship HMS Victory, upon which Nelson died in the Battle of Trafalgar, as well as being the port from which the Mayflower set sail for the New World back in 1620.

It’s fair to say we all need a weekend away, and what better way to enjoy a weekend in Portsmouth than hopping on the train. With 37% of people of looking forward to exploring the UK and 31% enjoying travelling by train thanks to the beautiful views on offer, it’s time you planned your trip.

Whether you’re travelling by train to Portsmouth from London or Leeds, there’s no shortage of things to see and do in the pretty maritime city.

PORTSMOUTH

Emirates Spinnaker Tower

Standing proud on the entrance to Portsmouth harbour is the impressive Emirates Spinnaker Tower. Modelled to reflect the city’s maritime history, it’s the perfect observation tower to explore the landscape of the city.

Standing two and a half times the size of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square it’s the tallest climbable structure outside the capital.

Canoe Lake

For a spot of old world glamour head to the Canoe Lake. With swan-shaped pedalos, Art Deco angel statue it’s the epitome of a Victorian seaside postcard picture.

For some good old fashioned fun, grab a bucket and fishing line and spend the morning catching crabs in the lake.

Gunwharf Quays

Shop ’til you drop in the designer outlet on the waterfront. Enjoy some al fresco dining by the sea and watch the glamorous yachts in the marina. With big names at small prices, it’s the perfect place to spend a few hours come rain or shine.

WOMAN SHOPPING

D-Day Museum

Discover the personal stories behind the Allied Invasion at the moving D-Day Museum. Telling the story from both a civilian and military point of view. It’s a moving museum that all the family will find interesting.

Recently enjoying a £5 million revamp, there are an additional three exhibition galleries, a café, and of course a gift shop.

Clarence Pier Amusement Park

One of the largest amusement parks on the south coast and boasting rides and amusements of all shapes and sizes the whole family can enjoy.

With traditional Arcades and a Pirate and Princesses Indoor Adventure Playground. As well as aerial high ropes, and spinning roller coasters, and of course plenty of places to eat and drink, it’s a great way to spend the day.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

A weekend in Portsmouth wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. A visit to the dockyard takes you on a journey through time, allowing you to step on board some of the most world-famous ships.

There are multiple things to see and do so there’s something to suit the whole family.

Click and Construct with K’Nex – Rad Rides and Battle Bow Building Set

This product was sent for inclusion in this post in exchange for our honest review. All opinions are our own.

Moose has always loved STEAM toys which encourage building but up until now we have never really played with K’nex. He was absolutely thrilled then when 2 awesome K’nex sets were sent to us to try out.

Founded in 1992, K’NEX, part of the Basic Fun! family of brands, did not set out to become an educational toy company, all we wanted to do was show kids that the only limit to building was the size of their imagination! More than 25 years later, K’NEX prides itself on connecting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math with imagination. K’NEX product line has building toys specially designed for every age group and skill level.

Rad Rides

The K’Nex Rad Rides set is aimed at children aged 7-12. There are a lot of small fiddly bits so I can completely understand this being the target age group. Moose is not 7 yet but he had no trouble fitting the parts together – there were a few exceptions but not as many as I thought there might be if I’m honest!

In the K’Nex Rad Rides set there are over 200 pieces and instructions to build 3 vehicles – there are 9 more to find on www.knex.com/instructions

The first thing Moose did was to choose which vehicle he wanted to make, he chose one from the set of instructions supplied with the set. The vehicle Moose chose had only 7 steps. Aside from assembling the wheels and axels he pretty much just got on with the rest of it himself. Result!

Battle Bow Building Set

Moose was so excited when he saw the Battle Bow Building Set.

The Battle Bow Building Set has a choice of 4 different models to make but Moose knew straight away that he was going to make the bow. I mean, it’s a working bow and he’s 6 so..

Other model instructions included in the set were a crossbow and a blaster!

This was a bit more intense than the previous set. Moose really had to concentrate in places to be able to follow the instructions. It didn’t help that the colours of the pieces were not always the same colour in the instructions so we had to change tact and look at the shapes rather than the colours.

Once we got the hang of it though it was easy enough and actually turned out to be a lovely activity to do together.

After you put the bow together you need to pull back the spring part and insert 1 of the 5 darts into the barrel. Then just pull the trigger and it fires a surprising distance.

What did we think?

K’nex has been a bit of a revelation for us. As I mentioned earlier it had never been on our RADAR before but Moose absolutely LOVED it. The instructions were tricky to follow in places. However, as well as building the supplied instructions. Part of the fun of this kind of toy is using your imagination to build bigger than the box!

The K’nex sets are compatible with each other and with K’nex classic so you could potentially build your collection to be huge! I love STEAM toys and anything which encourages kids to use their imagination so this was right up my street!

K’nex is available from John Lewis and all other good toy shops.

Add some magic to your home decor with Airsai Floately levitating plant pot

Ad This product was sent to us in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own

 

I am not the sort of person who throws things away. This is a good thing for the most part. I don’t really tend to follow fashion, instead, I find what I love and whatever it is stays with me for the long haul. 

I have clothes much older than my children and other stuff older than even that! I’m not the sort of person who really looks for specifically eco friendly products but I like to think that by keeping things for ages I am doing my own bit. 

However. Occasionally I will see things that look really cool and speak to me. The Airsai by Floately was one such thing. Originally spotted on Instagram, I was instantly captivated! 

green plant

What is it?!

The Airsai by Floately is a levitating plant pot. Yes, that’s correct – LEVITATING. Once in place this lovely little pot floats approximately 2cm above it’s base. It’s held in place by magnetic force where it spins 360 degrees which is not only incredibly soothing to watch, it also means that your plant gets an even amount of sunlight so it can grow evenly. Win win! 

The Airsai pot and base are made from plastic with a wood effect which is far more convincing than I was expecting. It has a lovely finish and feels like it is very good quality (ie will stand up to even my clumsy mitts) 

It is not a huge product so it would not be difficult to find room for this – I would recommend either an air plant or succulent due to the size of the pot. 

Having indoor plants around has been proven not only to be an excellent stress reliever but also increases work productivity and they are a great motivator too – if you can take your eyes off them of course! 

What did I think?

airsai floately

This is such a simplistic product but I love having plants around and the Airsai really is mesmerising to watch. The only thing I would say is that it will need to be kept out of the reach of small children. If knocked off it’s axis the pot drops down toward the base with some real force as it is quite a powerful magnet! 

My children really love watching our “magic” plant. It would also be a really cool thing to have in the background on Zoom calls – you would soon know who was paying attention, that’s for sure! 

Where to buy?

You can buy your Airsai on the Floately website www.floately.com and see it in action below! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Ben 10 HERO TIME

Ad| we were sent this product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own.

Our first run in with Ben 10 was waaay back when Col was little. Who knew that more than a decade on we would still be enjoying the adventures of a little boy called Ben and his very special watch – the Omnitrix. 

When Ben wears the Omnitrix it allows him to alter his DNA at will and transform into dozens of different alien species, each with their own unique abilities. My favourites (what? it HAS been over a decade of watching – I’m invested..) have to Heatblast and Four Arms. 

Moose was absolutely beside himself when we were sent some of the brand new Hero Time toys to play with. 

I love any kind of toy that pushes the idea of imaginative play. With Ben 10 there are so many possibilities. The Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix Creator Set encourages not only role play. Your child could play as Ben 10, Gwen or Kevin Levin even! But with the Omnitrix Creator, you can mix and match parts to create your own custom Omnitrix or Antitrix! 100+ combinations!

We loved how colourful and easy to use the Omnitrix was and Moose had loads of fun trying out all of the different colour combinations. He seems to love a villain (we aren’t worried yet) so there was a lot of Kevin 11 play!

As well as the Omnitrix Creator set we were also sent 2 alien figures. Omni-Kix Four Arms and Omni-Naut Heatblast!

There are quite a few aliens in the series and I know Moose will be adding the other characters to his wish list. He had so much fun playing with them!

All of the figures have moveable arms and legs. Some of the parts are even interchangeable so you could create your own heroes!

The figures are 10cm tall so a great size for taking along in the car as well as playing with at home.

The Ben 10 Deluxe Omnitrix Creator Set and Ben 10 space figures retail at £29.99 and £9.99 respectively and are available from all good toy shops

Head over to www.evolutioncomps.co.uk/Ben10 for your chance to win a fab Ben 10 prize. Find out more about the cool toys as well as more info on Ben himself!